WELDING PRI MER

2005 OUTAGE HANDBOOK

Types of joints
There are two basic categories of tube-
to-header joints: welded-only and
rolled, including rolled and welded.
Welded-only joints are of two basic
types: full-strength and full-penetra-
tion. Full-strength welds typically are
characterized by a bevel and fillet weld.
For the last 10 years, most HRSG
designs have relied on welded-only
tube-to-header joints. Rolled and rolled-
and-welded joints still are used today
for packaged HRSGs and waste-heat
systems with integral steam drums.
Here are the specific types of
joints you should be familiar with:
Full-strength welds

Stick-through with standard
J bevel

Stick-through with contoured
weld groove

Socket seat

Side-hill stick-through
Full-penetration welds

Set-on

Set-on with header spot-face
(also called spot-face set-on)

Extruded header butt weld
Mechanical joints

Rolled

Rolled and welded
Review basics of tube-to-header
joints before writing specs
By Mike McGuire, Chanute Manufacturing Co
O
ver the past 20 years,
boiler manufacturers have
relied on a variety of tube-
to-header joint designs in their
heat-recovery steam generators
(HRSGs). Since most owners of
gas-turbine-based cogeneration
and combined-cycle plants are
inclined to buy HRSGs and relat-
ed services from one or two, pos-
sibly three, OEMs (original equip-
ment manufacturers), you may
not have been exposed to all nine
of the joint configurations typi-
cally used in North America.
At some point you may be asked
to help develop the specification for
a new HRSG, or for replacement
harps or repairs for an existing
unit. A significant part of any such
specification probably will involve
tube-to-header joints. The first
thing you must become familiar
with before putting pen to paper is
the nomenclature for each type of
joint. Things work more smoothly
when you and your fabricator are
speaking the same language. Remember, the more
defined you write the spec, the better the result for
your particular application.
You also should be aware of the production costs
associated with each of the joint options. Cost
always is important to buyers.
The catalog of joint configurations that follows
provides the foregoing information and offers a
solid foundation for the preparation of your speci-
fications. Note that the engineering merits of the
various joints are not discussed because they are
designed to satisfy the form and function intended
by the OEMs. All joints meet the requirements of
the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code (short-
ened to Code throughout this article).
Further, Chanute Manufacturing Co, Chanute,
Kan, has successfully produced all of these joints
and not found one more reliable than the others.
The companys experience base includes the fab-
rication of more than 1600 HRSG pressure-part
modules for nearly all of the major OEMs over a
wide range of unit sizes and operating conditions.
Comparing the costs of welded tube-to-
header joints
Heres a comparison of the various cost components for
the welded tube-to-header joints. The stick-through with
standard J bevel is used as a baseline with a factor of 1
for its cost components. All other joints are assigned cost
factors compared to this joint.
Tube-hole Harp Joint Skill
prep fit-up weld level
Stick-through with
standard J bevel 1x 1y 1z 1d
Stick-through with
contoured weld groove 2.1x 1y 1.1z 1d
Socket seat 2x 1.8y 1z 1d
Side-hill stick-through 2.3x 1y 1.3z 1d
Set-on 0.8x 2y 0.8z 2d
Spot-face set-on 2x 1.8y 1.8z 2d
Extruded header 4x 1.8y 0.8z 2d
Where, x is the cost to bore the tube hole and machine the weld
grove, y is the cost to trim (if required), fit, and tack a tube into
an upper and lower harp header, z is the cost to weld out a
tube-to-header joint, and d is the degree of difficulty to make a
quality weld.
OH-38 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2004

2005 OUTAGE HANDBOOK
WELDING PRI MER
Code applicability:
Section I
Most tube-to-header weld joints are
designed according to the sketches
presented in Figs 1 and 2. These
appear in Section I of the Code as
Figs PW-16.1 (a) and PW-16.1 (z),
respectively. The Code is careful to
state that these are only some of the
acceptable types, but in most cases,
the weld-only joints for HRSG harps
are related to either Fig 1 for full-
penetration welds or Fig 2 for full-
strength welds. Note in the figures
that t
n
is the thickness of the tube
wall and t
c
is a dimension that may
not be less than the smaller of in.
or 0.7t
n
.
More specifically, Fig 1 depicts
a standard set-on joint. A common
variation of this joint is the spot-face
set-on, described in detail in the
catalog of joints that follows. Fig 2 is
applicable to the stick-through types
of joints. A socket-seat joint is shown,
even though it is less common in the
US than joints with a through-hole
size equal to the outside diameter of
the tube, which eliminates the seat.
The Code permits the seat-less con-
figuration as detailed in Section I,
Interpretations Volume 35 (refer to
Interpretation I-92-95).
The Code allows the dimensional
depth of the weld groove to be mea-
sured from the vertical topor high
sideof the header pipe as shown
in Fig 2, Section 1-1. There is no
governing requirement on the low
side. In application, some combina-
tions of small-diameter pipes and
tubes larger than 2 in. diameter
result in little or no weld groove
on the low side of the tube hole.
In such situations, it is common
to specify a low-side requirement,
such as a minimum chamfer, in
addition to the Code.
t
c
1
1
t
c
t
n
t
c
t
n
but not less
than in.
1
16 in. recess
Section 1 - 1
Stick-through
with standard
J bevel
This is the most common tube-to-
header joint configuration. It is
favored because it meets the HRSG
designers performance require-
ment and it is the least expensive
weld joint for harps. Fig 3 shows
the tube hole with J bevel prep.
As noted in the introduction, bevel
depth is measured from the top, or
high side, of the header. The result-
ing weld, shown in Fig 4 is uniform,
matching the contour of the tube
and header intersection. Fig 5 is
a cross section of the weld after
chemical etching.
From a manufacturing perspec-
tive, one benefit of this joint is the
relative ease of machining the hole
and weld prep with a simple two-axis
machine. Experienced fabricators can
machine both the hole and weld prep
in a single operation. When a com-
puterized numerical control (CNC)
boring machine is used, an entire
tube field can be produced very effi-
ciently; no tooling change is required.
Other manufacturing advantag-
es pertain to harp fabrication. It is
common for finned tubes to vary
in length by some small tolerance.
This is easily absorbed by stick-
through joints during fit-up because
minor tube-length variations typi-
cally are allowed to run out in the
bottom header. This eliminates the
need to trim-to-fit every tube, as
is the case with some of the other
joint configurations.
Finally, the stick-through weld
joint is a fillet weld and does not
require the higher level of skill that
an open-root weld requires. Thus
you can expect the level of quality
for these joints to be more consis-
tent than for other types.
Full-strength weld
Fig 3
Fig 4
Fig 5
Fig 2 Fig 1
COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2004 OH-39
OH-40 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2004
TURBINE OI L
2005 OUTAGE HANDBOOK 2005 OUTAGE HANDBOOK
WELDING PRI MER
Stick-through with
contoured weld
groove
This joint (Fig 6) is very similar to
the standard J bevel design, but
it goes beyond the requirements of
the Code sketch shown in Fig 2 by
articulating the J bevel around
the contour of the hole. Result is
a weld groove of constant depth at
both the high and low sides of the
header tube hole.
With regard to fit-up and welder
skill requirements, this joint has
the same shop benefits as the stan-
dard J bevel joint. However, it is a
more expensive weld prep because it
typically is performed in two sepa-
rate operations: the first to bore the
hole and then a second operation to
three-axis machine the contoured
bevel.
It also can require more filler
metal than the standard J around
the low side of the joint, depending
on weld technique, but the addition-
al welding generally is negligible.
Full-strength weld

Socket seat
The socket-seat stick-through con-
figuration (Fig 7) is the purest trans-
lation of the Code sketch in Fig 2.
This joint is particularly useful in
upper headers because it can facili-
tate draining. Note, however, that
there are simple methods to facili-
tate upper-header draining with
other joint configurations as well.
To fabricate this tube-hole config-
uration, a two-step process of boring
and machining typically is required.
Thus this hole is more expensive
than the standard J, but less than
the contoured bevel prep.
Fit-up and welding must guard
against cracking of the weld caused
by shrinkage-induced mechanical
stress inside the joint. This can
occur when the tube is fit-up flush
in the socket seat throughout the
weld process and the consequent
weld shrinkage draws the tube
hard against the seat. The result-
ing stress can be sufficient to frac-
ture the weld. Experienced shops
account for this situation in their
fit-up and welding techniques.
If a socket-seat joint is speci-
fied for the upper header only, the
tubes usually are not trimmed to
fit because minor length variations
can be run out into the lower head-
er. If both upper and lower headers
are specified with this joint, addi-
tional trim-to-fit labor normally is
required.
Full-strength weld
Side-hill
stick-through
The stick-through tube-to-head-
er joints described previously are
installed on header radial lines,
meaning that the tube centerline
intersects the header centerline.
Alternatively, some HRSG designs
use offset centerlines, thereby
resulting in a so-called side-hill
tube hole. Fig 8 illus-
trates the side-hill
stick-through joint.
Primary benefits of
this configuration: It
allows tighter spac-
ing of tube rows and
it uses straight finned
tubes.
The J bevel for
this joint typically is contoured
around the tube hole. Interpretation
of where on the header to measure
the depth of the groove in order to
meet the Code differs among HRSG
designers. Machining of
the tube hole and weld
groove is a two-step
process on a three-axis
machine; the groove
must be milled around
the circumference of
the hole. This joint is
the most expensive of
the stick-through con-
figurations because a side-hill hole
has a longer circumference than a
radial hole. For the same reason,
this joint also requires the most
filler metal.
Full-strength weld
Set-on
The set-on tube-to-header config-
uration (Fig 9) uses a tube-hole
diameter equal to or smaller than
the tube ID. On small-diameter
headers, the tube end typically is
coped (so-called fish-mouthed)
to match pipe contour. This joint
requires an open-root weld and the
back side is inaccessible; therefore,
it demands a higher degree of skill
from the welder than is required for
most other joint configurations.
When making a complete harp
assembly with these joints, addition-
al labor is required for trimming the
tubes to a precise length and fish-
mouthing the ends. Drilling the tube
hole is a simple one-step operation,
making this the least expensive hole
prep of all the welded joints.
Full-penetration weld
Fig 6
Fig 7
Fig 8
Fig 9
Spot-face set-on
This joint, similar to the
set-on, eliminates the need
to fish-mouth the tube end
by spot-facing the header.
It also is an open-root weld,
but the recess can make
for more difficult access to
the root. As Figs 10 and
11 show, this configuration
requires significantly more
welding labor than the
simple set-on joint. With
the proper equipment, the
spot-face weld prep and the
tube hole can be machined
in a single step, but two steps nor-
mally are used. Additional tube
trimming to fit between headers
is still required when fabricating
complete harps.
Full-penetration weld
Extruded header
Extruded tube holes enable butt-
welding of tubes to the header (Figs
12 and 13). This joint is marketed
as a lower-stress connection than
the other welded joints because
the transition legs of the extru-
sion have a radius and because a
butt weld is used in place of a fillet
weld. The weld also can be radio-
graphed.
Whi l e the extruded header
has its advantages, the tube field
on an extruded header is signifi-
cantly more expensive to produce
compared to the other joints with
machined tube holes. When fab-
ricating a harp with extruded
headers on both ends, additional
trimming of the tubes typically is
required during fit-up. This can be
eliminated only if the upper header
is extruded and the lower header
has stick-through joints. Lastly,
this joint uses an open-root butt
weld, calling for greater skill on the
part of the welder than some of the
other joints shown.
Full-penetration weld
T
a
y
l
o
r

F
o
r
g
e
Rolled, rolled and
welded
In HRSGs with integral steam
drums you may see a mechanically
expandedor rolledjoint (Fig
14). Here, the inside of the tube is
mechanically pressed against the
sides of the tube hole to form the
pressure sealcapable to more
than 1500 psig without a
seal weld. In the shop, the
tube wall is squeezed to
the point that it thins out
by 6% to 14%. The option-
al seal weld is implied by
Code Section I, PWT-11, to
be a tube retention weld;
some engineers believe
it also serves as a pres-
sure weld. This joint is not
included in the cost-com-
parison table because it
rarely is used in electric
generating facilities.
Mechanical joints
Fig 10 Fig 11
Fig 12 Fig 13
Fig 14
COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2004 OH-41
2005 OUTAGE HANDBOOK
WELDING PRI MER